Two Australian cricketers were offered sex from Karim
A Sri Lankan man has been charged with breaking and entering after he broke into the hotel rooms of two Australian cricketers and offered them sex during the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Twenty20.
21-year-old Abdul Karim pleaded guilty to the charges in a Sri Lankan court and was fined 1,000 rupees, while also receiving a one-month suspended jail term.
The man somehow managed to get past all the security around the luxurious Cinnamon Grand hotel in Colombo and broke into the Australian players rooms ahead of their scheduled match against India.
Speaking exclusively to AFP, a police officer involved in the case said: “The man had gone into a player’s room offering his services as a male escort, the player refused and he barged into another room when the Australians alerted hotel security.”
During the World Twenty20, the Sri Lankan authorities declared the floors occupied by cricketers as out-of-bounds.
A senior official coordinating security for the tournament spoke exclusively to AFP as well, and said: “No harm was done, but the intrusion was a serious embarrassment, since then, we have reviewed the arrangements and taken some new measures.”
The police and security officials declined to name the two players involved.
There was no comment from the ICC or Australian team about the incident either.
Security at hotels has been a major concern for big tournaments like this ever since the 2007 ICC World Cup, when Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer was found dead in his hotel room in Jamaica.
Police initially treated Woolmer’s death as a homicide, but later ruled that he has died of natural causes.
This incident was the second embarrassing moment in the World Twenty20, with the first coming in Hambantota, where local residents stormed into the ground after being alerted that tickets for the match between Sri Lanka and South Africa had sold out in the 35,000 capacity stadium.
The crowd became extreme hostile, as they smashed through barricades, threw stones at police vehicles and entered the ground in a forcible manner despite the heavy presence of police commandos.